Look Up For A Change!
by Akiyotame
Summary: A KotoUmi Popular Kid/Nerd AU One-shot request. I don't feel too strongly about this one.


Umi was never the type to stand out in a crowd. She mostly kept to herself during school and worked to get by until graduation. She was never big on the whole "fruitful" high school lifestyle, but her life slowly began to change after she ran into Minami Kotori, the school's most popular girl.

For as long as Umi could remember, the two of them have been in the same class since their junior high days. She observed as Kotori changed from a shy timid junior high student into an outgoing and pretty high school girl.

The two of them never really got to know each other despite all of the years they have been in the same class. Every now and then they would have had small talk about class duty or questions about homework. But that was all their conversations would amount to.

Not only was Kotori popular, but she was very pretty and all of the boys were attracted to her at school. She was also pretty good at sports and she maintained a very good track record when it came to grades. If anything, she was the perfect model student in the eyes of today's standards.

Umi on the other hand was fairly plain compared to her. Unlike Kotori who styled her hair, Umi had always kept her hair long and straight. She wasn't big into cute clothes or fashion like Kotori enjoyed, and not that many boys looked at her the same way they looked at Kotori.

Umi didn't really care, however. All she wanted to do was graduate and continue on living her life.

She focused on her studies even if it meant that she would shut off some people from her life. Her classmates quite frankly didn't take kindly to Umi's attitude towards them. It wasn't until her final year in high school where she started getting bullied by other girls and boys.

Every other morning she would find thumbtacks in her school shoes. Sometimes her books had nasty notes written on them and other times there would be some mysterious and disgusting unidentified object in her desk.

At lunch, she would sit alone and eat quietly as people would pass by and toss food at her. Calling her names like, "Bookworm", "Loser" and "Loner".

Everyday was pretty much the same until Kotori sat next to her during lunch.

"Hey Umi-chan! Mind if I eat lunch with you?" she asked happily.

"Sure.. I don't mind," Umi continued to eat her lunch while reading her book.

"What're you reading?" Kotori asked as she unpacked her small bento.

"Just studying up for our final before the end of the year…" Umi took a bite out of her sandwich and flipped the page.

"But that isn't for another few months, right?" Kotori opened up her lunch and started eating it slowly.

Umi nodded and kept her eyes fixed on the book. Kotori frowned and moved closer to Umi. She slammed her book shut and forcefully turned Umi's head to face her.

"Let's go eat on the roof!" Kotori quickly packed her lunch and pulled on Umi's hand. She almost dropped her book and lunch but was able to recover quickly. She fought to escape Kotori's surprising iron grip but it ended in failure. The two were already on top of the school's roof.

"Why did you bring me here so suddenly?" Umi asked.

"Just look at how much room there is! And isn't the sky really pretty today?" Kotori pointed up and Umi's gaze followed.

"It looks the same to me…" She answered.

"Umi-chan, if you live every day thinking that everything is the same, then is it really a life worth living?" Kotori reached her hand out in a grasping motion towards the sky.

"I don't understand what you're saying…" Umi walked to the fence and rested her back against it. She opened up her book again and began studying. Kotori frowned and stomped her way towards Umi.

"You always have your face buried in a book, Umi-chan, try looking up for a change!" Kotori snatched the book away from Umi's hands.

Umi stood up in retaliation, "What do you mean by "looking up"? Don't I do that every day?!"

"That's not what I mean! Come with me…" Kotori dropped the book to the side and pulled Umi by the arm. She lead her to the other side of the rooftop

"Take a look," Kotori pulled Umi towards the fence and held her hand out in presentation.

"Ugh what is it-" Umi's breath was taken away by the view.

Across from the school was the city, the way the sunlight reflected off of the windows of the buildings created a gleam that was comparable to a clear summer night. The large pond over to the left reflected the sky that was a perfect balance between white and blue. The trees were swaying left and right in unison to create an image as if a group of violinists were completely in sync.

She could hear the wind blowing quietly across the rooftops, the sound of animals calling in the distance. Everything she saw and heard was normal in comparison to something extravagant. But she never knew how something normal could become so beautiful.

"If you spend your life stuck in a book, you will miss all of the wonders the world has to offer. So look up for a change." Kotori said with a smile.

Umi felt a tightening sensation in her chest, her heart was racing unlike never before. Something was beginning to bloom inside of Umi, a feeling that she hadn't felt in a very long time. The desire to reach out and experience more of what she just witnessed.

She rushed over and grabbed Kotori's hands, "Kotori-chan, please show me more of these wonders."

Kotori smiled and nodded, "Sure thing, Umi-chan!"


End file.
